(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Domestic violence and sexual abuse, particularly of young children is one of the many issues that the new President of the World Health Assembly wants to see tackled by the World Health Organisation, (WHO).
Guyana’s Minister of Health, the Hon Dr. Ramsammy who now holds the presidency of the WHA told the 61st Assembly on Monday, 19 May 2008, that it was necessary to dig out the root causes of the problem of domestic and sexual violence.
He identified substance abuse as a major determinant and noted that domestic and sexual violence was a social issue that the WHO had been “too timid” to tackle.
“Some persons have questioned our legitimacy in the fight against domestic and sexual violence, putting the responsibility upon social services and security sectors. I posit we have strong legitimacy in demanding a place at the table in tackling these social issues. These are Health for All issues.”
Turning to the issue of disability, Dr. Ramsammy said that it had occupied an orphan status for far too long on the public health agenda.
“We must correct this anomaly. People living with disabilities cannot be ignored any longer and we need to ensure that public health caters equitably for their needs.”
Minister Ramsammy was of the opinion that the technology and the tools to prevent blindness and impaired vision were available and that the WHO should ensure that those were more widely accessible to avoid preventable blindness.
The Guyana Health Minister who is the second CARICOM Minister in thirty years to be appointed president of the supreme decision making body of the WHO gave his inaugural address at the 61st Assembly convened in Geneva, Switzerland, 19 -24 May 2008. In that address he identified a broad slate of health challenges confronting the world, among which were climate change, food production and the high cost of living, the escalating rate of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), the persistence of HIV/AIDS and the staggering rates of child mortality.
He also highlighted the negative effects of migration on the human resource capabilities of health services in the developing countries.
